Management Today articles from August 2005

Management Today archives from August 2005

Tolerance fuels our economy.(Editorial)
August 1, 2005... Our ethnic mix was a positive factor that helped London win the 2012 Olympic bid. A bit of a change for our cover feature this month. The subject isn't a smooth, MBA-equipped corporate heavyweight from the FTSE-100 but a diamond geezer...

Contributors.
August 1, 2005... ANDREW PURVIS Researching MT's feature on the Greene King brewery proved 'a tough assignment' for Purvis, who makes a living demystifying the world's cuisines for the travel pages of the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph. 'People kept...

Chartered Management Institute: In my opinion.(decision making ethical framework)
August 1, 2005... Chartered Management Institute Companion Ian Robertson, group CEO of Wilson Bowden, argues for an ethical framework for decision-making. April's In My Opinion by Kevin Beeston referred to the impact of over-prescriptive controls on...

The MT Diary: Howard Davies.(Management Today)
August 1, 2005... A nation of David Brents; snake-oil charmer; ID crisis for Labour; butter-fingered Lions. The dirty secret of Britain's economic miracle is that our productivity per hour is 20% lower than in France and Germany, and 30% below the US rate....

Brainfood: Ten ways to ... Start a business.
August 1, 2005... The idea is paramount Surround yourself with people you trust...

Brainfood: It'll never fly - Mobile Ringtones.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... If Alexander Graham Bell had known his invention would one day announce itself with a motorbike noise from the mouth of a frog, he would have despaired. But these days, individuality is hot currency, and at pounds 1.50 a pop, there's a buck to...

Brainfood: How does she manage? - Matchmaker - Mary Balfour director, Drawing Down The Moon.(Brief Article)(Interview)
August 1, 2005... When did you become a manager? Officially, in 1986 when I bought Drawing Down the Moon, the original dating agency. What does management mean to you? It's about realising the mission of my business, which is to create as many happy...

Brainfood: Earning Curve - The Beach.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Leonardo DiCaprio, fee for the film The Beach dollars 20m Andy Irons, World Surfing Champ 2004 dollars 191k Beach hut, Poole Bay, Dorset, sold in '04 for pounds 100k Assistant seafront officer, Brighton, p.a. up to pounds 19.7k Kite...

Brainfood: Workplace Rights - Tag Lines.(electronic tagging for workers)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Up to 10,000 workers across the UK are required to wear electronic tagging devices, according to a report from the GMB trade union. Big names such as Asda, B&Q and online grocer Ocado are among the companies using the technology to...

Brainfood: History Lessons - Successful Succession - The Hefners.(Hugh Hefner, Christie Hefner)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... In 1982, the Playboy magazine and nightclub empire reported losses of dollars 51.8 million. With the situation looking desperate, its pyjama-clad founder Hugh Hefner took to his bed, installing his daughter Christie as CEO. The...

Brainfood: Your route to the top - Manage your time well.(The Mind Gym: Wake Your Mind Up )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Take control. Next time someone asks you to do something, even if it's your boss, pause to think about whether it is the right thing for you to do at all, let alone now. When you say no, stick to it. It's the only way to get control of...

Brainfood: Speaking Out - John Clare, CEO, Dixons Group.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... In his shirtsleeves and nondescript red tie, you could imagine Clare handing out advice to a Dixons' customer. Clare's subject at an Economist conference was: 'How can marketers meet CEOs' demands for accountability?' He ignored the subject....

Brainfood: Business Manners - Selling a business plan.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Be realistic. It's no use shooting for the moon - set smart, achievable objectives. You may well be convinced you're the next Branson, but the Roman (or Virgin) empire wasn't built in a day. Be objective. Stick to the facts. Investors will...

Brainfood: Slogan Doctor - Volkswagen: Aus Liebe zum Automobil.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Volkswagen makes many interesting cars. It's a pity that so few of them carry the VW name. If you want a sporty one, you'll buy a Seat; if you want a smart one, an Audi. Most likely, though, you'll buy a BMW. So to capitalise on the most...

Brainfood: Are you suffering from AAADD.(age-activated attention deficit disorder )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Did you forget the keys on the way to open the door, then forget where you parked the car in which you left your handbag with the keys in them? Do cocktail parties and business functions fill you with dread because every familiar face...

Brainfood: Words-Worth - Liquidator.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Who doesn't experience a guilty thrill at the word 'liquidator'? We all know that it usually means an accountant, but it still conjures up the image of a ruthless assassin. That unfortunate association - if you're an accountant - comes...

Brainfood: We'd love that job - Artist, Jonathan Delafield Cook, Still Life Master.(Brief Article)(Interview)
August 1, 2005... What do you do? I'm a draughtsman working just in charcoal. My method is an unfashionable skills-based approach, which is very time-consuming. My series of life-sized pictures of bulls took up to eight weeks each to complete. Every one was...

Brainfood: Remember This.(quotations)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... 'Creditors have better memories than debtors' BENJAMIN FRANKLIN SAID IT 'Occasionally, a man must rise above principles' WARREN BUFFET SAID IT

Brainfood: Peter Boizot - If I had to start again ..(Brief Article)(Interview)
August 1, 2005... I would like very much to start up my own business again. It could be in the restaurant trade or even music. I like being a salesman. When I was growing up, I always felt I would like to be one, but I was pretty open to the elements in the...

Brainfood: How he made his pile -Steve Jobs, Co-founder/CEO of Apple and Pixar Animation Studios.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Who is he? A 'corporate Huckleberry Finn' who sits on an estimated personal fortune of dollars 2.6 billion. He co-founded Apple and is the visionary behind animation studio Pixar. Gates may be richer, but Jobs is cooler. How did he make...

Brainfood: Stat of the Month - Cost of Consultancy.(management consultancy)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Pounds 1,275 - The average daily fee for a management consultant. Management consulting has never paid so well. Government spending on management consultants hit pounds 1.9 billion last year, up 46% on 2003, but the figure makes more sense...

Brainfood: Decisions - James Averdieck Gu Chocolate Puds, Founder and managing director.(Interview)
August 1, 2005... MY BEST... was starting Gu. Not only has it worked, but it has also allowed me to be in charge, which is the way I like to work. I'm entrepreneurial and always have been. And I've always been a chocolate-lover. In terms of the business, my...

Brainfood: Behind the Spin.(Boeing Co.)
August 1, 2005... THE DILEMMA A sex scandal, spy charges and unethical behaviour - America's biggest defence and aerospace player has experienced them all in the past two years. Boeing has also gone through three chief executives in 18 months, with the...

Brainfood: Crash course in ... Raising Emotional Intelligence.
August 1, 2005... A consultant has filed a report saying that your firm is hampered by failing to develop its people's EQ. Sounds like an old Spielberg movie, but apparently it's shorthand for Emotional Intelligence. So what is it? Emotional Intelligence (EQ...

Brainfood: MT Masterclass - Strategy.(Management Today)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... What is it? From the Greek, strategos, meaning 'a general'. Hence the military connotations of a business strategy - repelling enemies, staking out territory - and the idea that strategy ought to be something impressive that emerges from the...

A lesser-spotted breed.(women in business)
August 1, 2005... Once, women were not welcome at the party; now they toss the invitation away. To celebrate its 40th anniversary, the Confederation of British Industry earlier this year sent senior members and friends a tasteful pair of earrings engraved...

The MT Interview: Chris Dawson.(Management Today)(Interview)
August 1, 2005... A stereotype of the rags-to-riches entrepreneur, Chris Dawson started trading stuff while still at school, which he left with no qualifications. Now he owns and runs The Range, a retail business with a pounds 140m turnover, and drives an Aston...

Sir Ken's final curtain.(Sir Ken Morrison )
August 1, 2005... Due diligence is as important for a would-be non-exec as it is to an investor. Blunkett the Musical failed to make it to the West End stage. Maybe Morrison the Opera would fare better. It has all the ingredients to inspire a modern-day...

Brand Italia.
August 1, 2005... British admiration for the Italian way of life knows no bounds. But beneath the surface of la bella figura, things are not quite so dolce as they appear. Emma de Vita reports. Britain's love affair with Italy has been a long seduction....

Agents for Change.(career managers)
August 1, 2005... The Mr Ten Per Cents of old have been replaced by subtler advisers who bring a strategic eye to career enhancement and personal brand management, says Dominic Midgley. There was a time when Woody Allen's character in the film Broadway...

Real Profits from Real Ale.
August 1, 2005... Less than 10 years ago, cask ale brewing was in the last-chance saloon. So how did Greene King win through? Andrew Purvis reports. Walking from the staff car park to Greene King's head office in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, I enter a Dr Who...

The American Way of Work.
August 1, 2005... Working for a US firm can be a thoroughly foreign experience to anyone used to British norms, but it might prove the best career move you made, says Winston Fletcher. Everyone I spoke to unhesitatingly agreed: British and American...

Caravan comeback.
August 1, 2005... In contrast to the plodding, middle-of-the-road image of their output, Britain's mobile home producers are showing the rest of British industry the way. Emma de Vita reports. Known best for its brutal post-war architecture, as the home city...

My Best-ever I.T. Decision.(information technology)
August 1, 2005... Good decision-making is something of a black art in most areas of an organisation. In IT, it can be a particular headache: seminars on choosing the right services partner are well attended; word-of-mouth vendor recommen- dations are highly...

MT Business Travel: Frequent Flyer Paul Stokes' Guide to Kuala Lumpur.(Management Today)
August 1, 2005... HOW TO GET THERE: It's a 12-hour direct flight from Heathrow. I usually use Malaysian Airlines - its revamped business class is well worth trying - but Virgin Atlantic flies direct too. AIRPORT TO TOWN: Official cars ('limos') to...

MT Business Travel: Room Service - Where Shiv Khazanchi Stays ..(Management Today)
August 1, 2005... FOR BUSINESS: Having been in banking for a long time, I've travelled vast tracts of the globe, but the Lanesborough in London always catches my attention. We run courses for the kids of business clients there. From a business standpoint,...

On The Road.(TVR Sagaris, sports car)(Product/Service Evaluation)
August 1, 2005... You don't just go for a drive in the TVR Sagaris - you go for a high-octane workout. If you want drama on wheels, it's pretty hard to top the TVR Sagaris, the first new model from the Blackpool-based sports car maker since it was bought by...

What's Your Problem?(management problems)
August 1, 2005... You seem to be a bit picky for the sort of committed salesman that you claim to be. Q: I am looking for a job in sales and I'm totally confused. Since graduating four years ago, I've held a number of sales jobs but never for long, as I've...

First-Class Coach.(fear of failure)
August 1, 2005... Let your team know that initial failure is OK if lessons are learned and the error is not repeated. Q: The new company I've joined has an aversion to failure and a real blame culture. I disagree with this and think people learn through...

MT Business Lifeforms: Work placement student.(Management Today, Sophia Prentice)
August 1, 2005... Sophia Prentice's irritating enthusiasm will take her far in her father's agency. With a barely post-adolescent bounce and a 'Hello, everybody!' of smoothie-curdling cheeriness, Sophia Prentice bursts jarringly into the office on the dot...